Varian said that the acquisition bolsters its strategy to strengthen the Company's product portfolio, especially in the area of laboratory consumables, with internal research and development efforts and strategic acquisitions of complementary products and technologies.
GPC is an analytical liquid chromatography technique used to separate components based on their molecular size in solution. It is the technique of choice for rapid and reliable characterisation of polymer molecular weight and molecular weight distributions.
"The acquisition of Polymer Laboratories is strategic to the advancement of Varian's goal to grow the applications-based consumable products to become a larger portion of the business," said Garry Rogerson, President and CEO of Varian.
"It allows us to offer solutions for the purification, separation, and preparation of polymers, including proteins," he added.
The terms of the agreement means that Varian inherits Polymer Laboratories' HPLC detectors, one of which, the evaporative light scattering detector, is suited for operation together with mass spectrometers.
Polymer Laboratories also produce columns, standards and specialist chromatography systems as well as systems for high throughput screening and process monitoring applied to polymeric materials.
Under the terms of the agreement, the transaction would also include an opportunity for additional purchase price payments over three years, depending on future financial performance.
Those future payments would total up to $23 million if performance targets were achieved.
"It has been our intention to be acquired by a company with strategic benefits utilising the broad spectrum of technologies within our company, and which would give us the opportunity to grow our portfolio," said Dr. Frank Warner, Chairman of Polymer Laboratories, a privately owned subsidiary based in the United Kingdom.
"I believe that Varian's global infrastructure will provide a platform for maximum growth at a faster rate than might otherwise have been possible."
Polymer Laboratories makes systems for high throughput screening and process monitoring applied to polymeric materials, polymeric media and columns for bio-chromatography, as well as specialist detectors, plus resins for drug development and pharmaceutical process applications and clinical diagnostic polymer particles.